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The Whately Historical Society maintains a collection of material related to the Quonquont Farm, a Whately institution in various incarnations for nearly 100 years.  The farm is named after a 17th century Native American leader who lived nearby and who was a signer of the original lands sold to Hatfield in 1672.  The original building on the site was a wayside tavern and the nearby stream was damned to power a tannery.  In 1920 the property became the Quonquont Stock Farm which raised cattle and ran a successful dairy.  Most of the items in the Whately Historical Society Quonquont collection come from this era.  The famous Quonquont Milk Bottle, now belonging to the WHS and located on the grounds of the former Center School, was originally part of a restaurant and retail store located on Routes 5 & 10.  The tradition of serving ice cream through the Dutch door in the giant bottle is carried on by the WHS at both their spring and fall festivals, and these days the ice cream is free!

Now named simply “Quonquont Farm”,  the property has been planted as an orchard and offers an extensive collection of pick your own apples, peaches and blueberries.  In addition, the property operates  a farm stand and is available to reserve for special events such as reunions and weddings.

Whately was an early center for pottery production the trade being carried on in the town from about 1778 to 1860.  Twenty one potters were established in Whately, ten of whom were members of the Crafts family.   The first enterprise, however , was that of Stephen Orcutt and two Waite brothers, Luke and Obadiah.  They were followed by Thomas Crafts, called the “master potter” of Whately.   His early business was ordinary redware but he learned from renowned potter Sanford Perry the manufacture of black teapots and did a successful production of these for several years.  In addition Crafts established kilns for firing stoneware, and brought his brothers, sons and other relatives into the business making crocks, pots, jugs and eventually drainage tiles.  The Whately Historical Society has a good collection of Whately pieces, well worth a visit for early pottery lovers.